


Redead

by devylin



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Action/Adventure, Horror, I'm sorry this exists, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-17 19:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4678007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devylin/pseuds/devylin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link's adventure in a seemingly unoccupied cave leads him to a surprising discovery as to how a redead keeps its prey from escaping beyond its paralyzing shriek.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Redead

Link sighed into the darkness as another drop of cold water dripped from the cave’s ceiling and seeped through his hat. He must have been walking for hours, and the rough stone walls had few distinguishing characteristics beyond the various species of lichen clinging to them. Just to break up the monotony, he lifted his candle to the nearest wall, burning away the moist grey-green fungus in hopes of finding a few rupees. It had worked often enough in Hyrule’s vast field; he’d hack at grass and bushes and, with any luck, he’d be able to find at least enough money to buy himself room and board for the next day or so. Here, however, he was not so fortunate. He groaned aloud in frustration. He hadn’t seen any forms of life for quite a while now. At least when he’d been fighting keeses and skultulas he’d known he was going in the right direction. 

Grumbling to himself, he continued down the tunnel, wishing desperately for any change in lighting or a break in the oppressive silence. He was beginning to wonder if this cave was even worth exploring at all. Normally he’d have found something interesting or useful by now, but instead, all he came across was a seemingly endless tunnel, devoid of life and light. Still, he’d already come all this way. He may as well continue on just a little longer. 

After another eternity of shadows, lichen, and cold, dripping water, Link stopped short. He was sure he’d heard something. It had been quite, but he knew something was there. Link strained his ears for another long minute, hoping whatever he’d heard would sound again. There it was: a faint shuffling accompanied by a low moan he wasn’t sure he’d heard the first time. A moan? His heart sped up a little as he thought about what could possibly make a sound like that all the way down here. Perhaps someone else had set out to explore and had been injured. If that were the case, they clearly needed his help. Link wasted no time continuing his journey with a quickened pace. Who knew how long this person may have been down here for, and if the injury were serious, they would need some sort of treatment immediately. Though Link knew only the basics about tending serious wounds, he could at least offer one of the potions he carried until he was able to bring the injured party out of the cave and to a nearby town to see a doctor. 

The candle’s light didn’t spread far enough to prepare him for the tunnel to suddenly open up into a vast round chamber. Link paused when he realized that he no longer had uneven stone walls pressing on either side of him, and he lifted the candle to get a better look around. The shuffling and moaning was louder here, echoing on all sides and making the origin difficult to pinpoint, and the candle did nothing to illuminate its source. Carefully, he stepped back toward the entrance and turned to search the perimeter of the room. If something else were here, he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. His light gleamed off of the damp walls as he crept along, searching for the source of the sounds. Strangely, though, an eerie quiet had descended around him. The shuffling and moaning had come to an end. He sped up his gait with the realization that it was possible that the person down here could be wounded more seriously than he’d originally thought. His quick movements, however, drew the attention of a creature in the center of the chamber.

With shambling steps, the shriveled, decaying figure drew closer to the unfamiliar footsteps. It couldn’t remember anyone entering its home in a very long time. Too long. It had been ages since the redead had had anything fresh to eat. The occasional rat or spider that scurried by was barely enough to keep it moving. This, on the other hand, sounded like something much larger, something that could keep its hunger sated for weeks. As the intruder moved closer to the other side of the room, the redead dragged its tired feet to the opening that its prey was surely heading for. It gave another weary moan as it closed in on its unsuspecting victim.

Link heard the sounds starting up again before he had reached the other side of the room. He wondered briefly if they were coming from the new tunnel that seemed to have resolved itself in front of him thought the darkness, and just as he started to make his way closer, he heard a high-pitched, wailing shriek from directly behind him. He’d never heard anything like it. It sounded almost like the screech of nails on a chalkboard if the noise were projected through human vocal chords. Link stood frozen on the spot, wide-eyed and trembling. He was sure he’d have dropped the candle if his fingers had been able to move. Eyes darting wildly in search of the source, Link urged his body to move, terrified to find himself completely paralyzed. He could hear the shuffling more clearly now as heavily weathered feet dragged themselves closer and closer, just outside of his line of vision. He was suddenly very aware of his own shaking breath contrasting sharply with the strange breathlessness of whatever was lugging itself toward him. His mind screamed at him to run, to get away from whatever horror dwelt in this cave, but no matter how he struggled against the creature’s shrieked paralysis, he was unable to even shift a single finger. 

The movement suddenly stopped. Link began to feel the muscles in his body slowly free themselves from their rigidity and cautiously let his head begin to turn to find out what had been crawling toward him. Although he was only given seconds before the redead leapt onto his back, he almost wished he hadn’t looked at all. What once may have been human stared back at him through empty eye sockets that were barely distinguishable from its toothless, gaping mouth. Any moisture that its body had once possessed had left its crumbling skin shriveled long ago. He’d battled terrifying creatures all across Hyrule, but this was different; just looking it, he felt a scream welling in his throat, but any possibility of that was knocked out with his breath when the creature’s full weight crashed against his with surprising energy. It wrapped its skeletal legs around his waist and its spindly arms across his face and shoulders. Link grabbed at it, strength and movement renewed, struggling to pull it off of him. His hands met the redead’s boney wrists, and he yanked at them, struggling for freedom and air. The redead let loose another deep moan and pressed its mouth to the top of his head, and Link’s body stiffened. 

All worries were swept from his mind and replaced by a sense of calm that he hadn’t felt since stepping foot into this mysterious cave. It was as though any and all terror were being simply sucked away as if it had never been there at all. When he thought about it, there did seem to be some sort of suction on his head, but then, he really didn’t care enough to think on that right now. Through the veil of bliss, he was completely unaware of the energy and life being drained away. He was only aware of how easily all painful thoughts and emotions had scattered from his mind; the calm spread throughout his body, traveling through his arms and legs and loosening his grip on the redead’s arms. His struggling ceased and he allowed his knees to give way under the creature’s weight, dragging him down to the dank floor. 

The cold dampness became little more than a tingle on his skin, more sensual than uncomfortable. In fact, everything had become more sensual. The peace he’d felt was slowly giving way to an unshakable cloud of ecstasy. An unconscious gasp escaped his lips as this new feeling spread through him, just as the tranquility had. But this was different. Though he stayed blissfully unaware of the horror that had clamped itself to him, he was very conscious of the pressure of its arms and legs, the unusual sucking sensation right about his left temple, and the way that the cool stone balanced the heat of his body. And it was tantalizing. He found himself arching his neck back against the redead’s maw, forcing himself closer to the suction. He could feel it drawing something out of him, and though he wasn’t sure what it was, it felt better than anything he’d experienced before. The feeling of ecstasy flooded through him now, gushing through his veins with a ferocity that threatened to burst through his skin. He grabbed at its hands, ensuring that it would stay and continue whatever it was that was doing to create this untold pleasure. The redead made no response to his writing attempts at closeness and continued to gorge itself.

As the redead continued to drain Link’s body of energy, his mind reacted with increasing intensity to the creature’s force. He’d fallen to the floor, unable to even kneel any longer, though it was unclear whether this were due to the readead’s feeding or the insatiable pleasure coursing through his blood. His entire being had begun to tremble as his mind battled with itself over whether it needed some sort of release from this ever building carnal ecstasy or if it wanted to continue the pleasure endlessly. He shuddered under the dry, wrinkled skin, lost in the effect it was having on his mind, but oblivious to the havoc it was wreaking on his body. At long last he felt himself give a shivering groan and Link’s body became still. The redead detached itself from the hero’s tunic and surveyed him for a moment. It gave another low, lonely moan and squatted down, arms on its need above a newly shriveled corpse.


End file.
